William Hague privately warned senior Cabinet ministers that the introduction
of new press laws would fundamentally undermine British foreign policy.

The Foreign Secretary said that the Russian Government was preparing to use the introduction of statutory press regulation in Britain to justify "human rights abuses" such as the jailing of members of the punk band Pussy Riot.

The Prime Minister is understood to have found the warning to be “one of the most powerful arguments” which led to him to strongly speak out against statutory regulation of the press on Thursday afternoon.

A well-placed Government source said: “It was a very serious presentation. He warned that Britain demonstrating that we have a free press is part of our ability to say we believe in democracy.

“William said that he would be going to a meeting of foreign ministers next week and if we announced statutory regulation this would be used by the Russians to justify all sorts of behaviour. It is a fundamental part of British foreign policy to have a free press.”

Ministers were also warned that in the wake of the Arab Spring, amid fears of a new wave of dictators seizing power, it was important to demonstrate a commitment to free speech.

Mr Hague added that at a key, but volatile time, in north Africa and the Middle East, the role of Britain in promoting “basic rights” like free speech was “absolutely critical”.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Mr Hague delivered the warning at a special meeting of the Coalition Committee on Thursday morning.

The Committee consists of the most senior Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers and met in an attempt to develop an agreed Government response to the Leveson inquiry.

However, Nick Clegg decided not to support David Cameron’s stance and later made a statement to Parliament backing the introduction of a statutory form of press regulation.

Ministers will resume cross-party talks over the issue on Monday and Tuesday – as the recriminations over the Prime Minister’s response to Lord Justice Leveson’s report yesterday continued to mount.

Mr Clegg last night accused the Conservatives of failing to act in "good faith" after the Culture Secretary suggested that new press laws proposed in the Leveson Report were unworkable.

Maria Miller, the Conservative Culture Secretary, warned yesterday morning that new legislation threatens the freedom of newspapers and said a Bill is only being drafted to prove that the proposals will not work.

She said: "Our concern is that we simply don’t need to have that legislation to achieve the end objectives, and in drafting out this piece of legislation what we are going to be demonstrating is that it wouldn’t be a simple two-clause Bill."

Her comments were criticised by Mr Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister, who accused the Mrs Miller of reneging on a cross-party agreement.

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister said: “The statement that this bill is being drafted to show that it will not work does not reflect the position agreed by all three party leaders in the talks on Thursday.

“And the Liberal Democrats in Government will ensure that the bill is drafted in good faith. We owe that to the public and the victims.”

As the Coalition split deepened victims of press intrusion, including the parents of Madeleine McCann and Milly Dowler, were so angered by Mr Cameron refused to attend a scheduled meeting with Mrs Miller.

Victims of press intrusion yesterday launched a petition, run by the campaign group Hacked Off, calling for the government to implement Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations.

However John Whittingdale, the Conservative chairman of the Commons select committee, said Lord Justice Leveson had designed a regulator for the "press of 20 years ago" and ignored the impact of the internet.

The Leveson report devotes just 12 pages of the 1,987 page report to the internet and dismisses it as an "ethical vacuum".

Mr Whittingdale said: "It is curious to bring in very strong controls to prevent newspapers breaking the code when it's so easy for online providers to do so.

"At a time when more and more people are going online to obtain news and as a result circulation of newspapers is in steady decline, it seems strange to respond by designing a system which does very little to address new media."

Lawyers also warned that investigative journalism will be stifled if Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations for tougher data protection laws are taken up.

The chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord Hunt of Wirral, yesterday proposed to dissolve the discredited regulator and replace it with a new, strengthened body.